Ecology

Environment any coldOrganization solitaryTreasure incidental

Special Abilities

Devour (Su) If a wendigo successfully grabs a humanoid target, it can immediately make a bite attack against the target. This bite has a +4 bonus on its attack roll, inflicts 1d4+2 points of damage on a hit, and has a critical threat range of 18–20. A creature that takes any damage from a wendigo’s bite is exposed to wendigo psychosis (see below).

Feed (Su) If a wendigo delivers a coup de grace on a humanoid, it bites for 2d4+4 points of damage as it swiftly feeds on the body. If this coup de grace slays the humanoid, the wendigo gains 1 growth point. Growth points fade after 1 month, but if a wendigo ever accumulates 20 growth points, it immediately transforms into a windwalker wendigo.

Susceptible to Critical Hits (Ex) A wendigo’s entrails are exposed, and as a result, a threatened critical hit automatically confirms against a wendigo. When a wendigo suffers a critical hit, it loses 1d4 growth points and its regeneration is suppressed for the following round.

Wendigo Psychosis (Su) A creature that suffers damage from a wendigo’s bite as a result of its devour or feed attack is exposed to wendigo psychosis, and can resist the effects with a successful DC 12 Will save. This is a mind-affecting disease effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Wendigo Psychosis: Injury—devour or feed; save Will DC 12; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d4 Charisma damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. A humanoid suffering from wendigo psychosis becomes nauseated for 24 hours if it eats anything other than raw flesh of a creature of its own type and subtype. As soon as a creature commits an act of cannibalism, all future saving throws to resist the effects of this disease suffer a –4 penalty. A creature whose Charisma damage ever exceeds its actual Charisma score immediately transforms into a ravenous wendigo, losing all aspects of its former race, personality, and class levels. Restoring the victim at this point requires the wendigo’s death, followed by true resurrection. A miracle or wish can restore a transformed victim to humanity as well.

Rarely, when a humanoid is forced to commit acts of cannibalism in the frozen reaches of the world, its soul suffers damage as a result and it contracts wendigo psychosis. Ravenous wendigos indirectly serve Ithaqua, albeit in a mindless, instinctual way. Only when they transcend to a full-fledged wind walker, gaining in intellect and power, do they serve Ithaqua knowingly and directly.

Wendigos are comparable in size to humans, which indeed are what they originally derive from. Some wendigos grow slightly after their transformation but remain close to human size.